Billionaire and hotelier Ong Beng Seng will have his case heard in court again on July 23 in a pre-trial conference.
This follows a pre-trial conference on Tuesday morning (July 8) for the charges of abetting a public service in obtaining gifts and abetting the obstruction of justice.
Tuesday’s adjournment was for parties to file revised papers. No further details were given.
A pre-trial conference is usually held in chambers and involves the court and parties involved in a case. It is intended to sort out administrative matters, including the scheduling of court dates.
Lawyers whom AsiaOne spoke to said that there is no statutory limit on the number of such conferences as it will vary depending on the complexity and progress of the specific case.
Ong, 79, was charged on Oct 4, 2024, and was originally set to plead guilty on April 2, 2025.
This was postponed to July 3 after his lawyers asked for an extension to obtain his medical reports. Ong has been diagnosed with cancer and was reportedly undergoing chemotherapy for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
Both of Ong’s charges are in relation to former transport minister S Iswaran, who was sentenced to 12 months’ jail last October. Iswaran completed his emplacement on home detention scheme in June and is no longer under prison custody.
Ong, the chairman of Formula One promoter Singapore Grand Prix (GP), allegedly offered Iswaran an all-expenses paid trip to Doha in December 2022.
He is also accused of obstructing the course of justice by alerting Iswaran that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had seized the flight manifest for the trip from Doha to Singapore.
The offences of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts under Section 165 carries a jail term of up two years, a fine, or both. Abetting an offence carries the same penalty, if the offence is committed as a consequence of the abetment.
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